Cooking appliance

ABSTRACT

A cooking appliance comprising a container for containing a cooking liquid, an electrical heating element for heating cooking liquid in the container, and a food receptacle supported in the container for angular movement about a horizontal pivot axis. The receptacle has a portion that is perforated to let in cooking liquid in the container for cooking the food articles. A drive mechanism serves to move the food receptacle about the pivot axis. The food receptacle includes a wall extending at least partially around the pivot axis. The wall includes a plurality of fixed traps for trapping and carrying the food articles out of the cooking liquid upon relative upward movement of the receptacle and then allowing the food articles to fall back down upon further upward movement of the receptacle.

[0001] The present invention relates to a cooking appliance that is usedparticularly but not exclusively for frying food.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Cooking appliances of the type in general concerned are known,for example as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,077,555, in which a puddleframe is pivoted about a horizontal axis in a stationary food basketsubmerged partially in cooking oil for agitating food articles in thebasket. The frame inevitably breaks or squashes the food articles. Inanother known cooking appliance, there is used a cylindrical basket thatis rotated centrally about a vertical axis to agitate the food articlescontained therein, but a relatively large amount of cooking oil isreeded and the food articles cannot be agitated sufficiently thoroughly.

[0003] The subject invention seeks to mitigate or at least alleviatesuch problems by providing an improved cooking appliance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] According to the invention, there is provided a cooking appliancecomprising a container for containing a cooking liquid, an electricalheating element associated with the container for heating cooking liquidin the container, and a food receptacle supported in the container forangular movement about a substantially horizontal pivot axis. Thereceptacle has a portion that is perforated to let in cooking liquid inthe container for cooking food articles received in the receptacle. Adrive mechanism is included for moving the food receptacle about thepivot axis. The food receptacle includes a wall extending at leastpartially around the pivot axis. The wall includes a plurality of trapsfixed thereto for trapping and carrying the food articles out of thecooking liquid upon relative upward movement of the receptacle and thenallowing the food articles to fall back down upon further upwardmovement of the receptacle.

[0005] Preferably, the food receptacle has a substantially at least partcircular cross-section at right angles to the pivot axis, and a centralaxis coinciding with the pivot axis.

[0006] More preferably, the container has a cross-section that issubstantially the same as but marginally larger than that of the foodreceptacle, together sharing a common central axis.

[0007] It is preferred that the food receptacle comprises a screenbasket.

[0008] Preferably, the receptacle portion and wall comprise screenparts.

[0009] It is preferred that the receptacle wall has a general shape thatis substantially at least part cylindrical and has a central axiscoinciding with the pivot axis.

[0010] Preferably, the traps are spaced apart angularly about the pivotaxis.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment, the traps comprise protrusions on aninner surface of the receptacle wall.

[0012] More preferably, the receptacle wall has a substantially at leastpart cylindrical general shape that extends equidistantly round thepivot axis and has opposite ends, across which ends at least some of theprotrusions extend.

[0013] Further more preferably, at least two, upper and lower ones ofthe protrusions have respective generally triangular cross-sections eachhaving opposite sides, the sides of the upper protrusion being inclinedat a relatively larger angle to the receptacle wall than those of thelower protrusion.

[0014] Alternatively, with the receptacle wall extending at leastpartially around the pivot axis, the traps may comprise recesses in aninner surface of the receptacle wall.

[0015] Preferably, the receptacle wall extends equidistantly at leastpartially around the pivot axis and are bent in a wavy manner to formthe traps.

[0016] In a first preferred embodiment, the food receptacle has agenerally semi-cylindrical shape about the pivot axis, and the drivemechanism is adapted to pivot the food receptacle in a reciprocatingmanner.

[0017] In a second preferred embodiment, the food receptacle has agenerally cylindrical shape about the pivot axis, and the drivemechanism is adapted to rotate the food receptacle continuously in onedirection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0018] The invention will now be more particularly described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0019]FIG. 1 is a simplified cross-sectional end view of a firstembodiment of a cooking appliance in accordance with the invention, theappliance including a semi-cylindrical receptacle for containing foodarticles;

[0020]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the food receptacle of FIG. 1;

[0021]FIG. 3 is a simplified cross-sectional side view of the cookingappliance of FIG. 1;

[0022]FIG. 4 is a detailed cross-sectional end view of the cookingappliance of FIG. 1;

[0023]FIG. 5 is a detailed cross-sectional side view of the cookingappliance of FIG. 3;

[0024]FIG. 6 is a simplified cross-sectional end view of a secondembodiment of a cooking appliance in accordance with the invention, theappliance including a cylindrical receptacle for containing foodarticles;

[0025]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the food receptacle of FIG. 6; and

[0026]FIG. 8 is a simplified cross-sectional side view of the cookingappliance of FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0027] Referring initially to FIGS. 1 to 5 of the drawings, there isshown a first cooking appliance 10 embodying the invention, whichcomprises a rectangular box-like housing 100, a generallysemi-cylindrical stainless steel food receptacle 200 pivotable about ahorizontal central axis X1, and a drive mechanism 300 for pivoting thereceptacle 200. The housing 100 has a main body 110 housing the foodreceptacle 200 and driving mechanism 300, and includes a top lid 120hinged at one end for closing the body 110.

[0028] Also housed within the body 110 is a generally deepsemi-cylindrical fixed aluminum pot 130 that has a rectangular topopening. The food receptacle 200 lies horizontally inside the pot 130,together sharing a common horizontal central axis that coincides withthe pivot axis X1. The drive mechanism 300 is located outside the pot130, at one end thereof.

[0029] The food receptacle 200 is a screen basket having a pair ofgenerally semi-circular solid vertical end walls 210 and a generallyshallow semi-cylindrical meshed or perforated base wall 220. The basewall 220 extends horizontally at right angles across the end walls 210and equidistantly round or about the pivot axis X1.

[0030] A rectangular rigid wire frame 230 connects across the tops ofthe end walls 210 for reinforcement or support, through which foodarticles, such as potato chips, can be loaded into the basket 200. Thebasket 200 has a generally semi-circular cross-section that is flatterthan that of the pot 130, and a marginally smaller diameter for beingheld in the pot 130 as a rotational sliding fit about the pivot axis X1.

[0031] Both basket end walls 210 include respective upstanding aperturedlugs 212 aligned with each other along the pivot axis X1. A pair ofaligned hinges 214 and 216 support the basket 200 by its respective lugs212 for pivotal movement about the axis X1 in opposite directions, suchthat the basket 200 can rotate back-and-forth through an angle of about70° on either side of the axis X1.

[0032] The drive mechanism 300 incorporates a bottom electric motor 310driving a horizontal output worm gear 320 that is in mesh with an upwardtrain of four double gearwheels 321 to 324 for speed reduction. Theupper gearwheel 324 is fixed on a horizontal shaft 325 that includes aneccentric crank pin 326. The second hinge 216 is a horizontal shaftfitted with a small gearwheel 218. The drive mechanism 300 includes athird horizontal, middle shaft 330 immediately below the hinge shaft216, which is fitted with another small gearwheel 332. The twogearwheels 218 and 332 are in mesh such that the hinge shaft 216 isrotatable by the middle shaft 330. The middle shaft 330 includes aneccentric crank pin 334.

[0033] A connecting rod 340 connects across the two crank pins 326 and334. While the first crank pin 326 is driven to turn in one direction bythe motor 310 via the gear train 321 to 324, etc., the rod 340 convertssuch a rotating action into angular reciprocation for the middle shaft330 and in turn the hinge shaft 216. Thus, the hinge shaft 216 turns inopposite directions to swing the food basket 200 back-and-forth insidethe pot 130, through an angle of about 70° on either side of the pivotaxis X1.

[0034] The pot 130 serves to contain a relatively small amount (say 375ml) of cooking liquid, such as edible oil, that submerges the lowermostspace (as shown by dotted lines in FIG. 1) of the food basket 200 at anyangular position thereof. An electrical heater 140 is installed right atthe bottom of the pot 130 to heat up the oil (say to 200° C.) forcooking the potato chips.

[0035] The basket 200 includes, on the inner surface of its base wall220, a plurality of food traps formed by ridges 222 each having atriangular cross-section. The ridges 222 extend at right angles acrossthe end walls 210 and are spaced apart angularly about the pivot axisX1. As part of the base wall 220, the ridges 222 are likewise meshed orperforated. The ridges 222 are relatively short (in terms of height) andare separated to form co-parallel shallow recesses or channels 224between them for temporarily trapping or retaining the potato chips.

[0036] During swinging of the food basket 200, the potato chips areconveyed upwards on the rising side of the basket wall 220. The chips atthe top of the heap will gradually roll or slide (or fall) back down,while those at the bottom remain trapped in the channels 224 as retainedby the ridges 222. When the basket 200 swings to the uppermost position(FIG. 1 or 4), most of those bottom chips previously entrapped will havebrought up and then allowed to roll back down thereby becoming situatedat the top of the heap. Thus, the chips at the bottom (being fried inthe oil) are turned upwards to the top (out of the oil), and the sameaction takes place when the basket 200 swings in the opposite direction.The action repeats in cycle until all the potato chips are cooked.

[0037] The ridges 222 are made not too tall to ensure that all thepotato chips that have been lifted can go back down. All the ridges 222,especially those upper ones on either side that are more clearly so,have a generally triangular cross-section having opposite sides. Thesides of upper ridges 222′ are inclined at a relatively larger angle tothe basket base wall 220 than those of lower ridges 222″. The differencein gradient causes the potato chips to move down from different heightsand/or at different times, thereby ensuring thorough agitation of thechips. In particular, the chips trapped by the upper ridges 222′ will beswung up to a higher level that is sufficient to allow them to turn overbefore falling down.

[0038] The traps, i.e. ridges 222 and channels 224, are produced bybending the basket base wall 220 in a wavy manner. In a differentconstruction, the traps may be provided by any other forms ofprotrusions, such as knobs, bosses or posts, fixed on the basket basewall 220, which are spaced apart to create cavities therebetween fortrapping or catching food articles.

[0039] It is envisaged that the bottom inner surface of the food basket200 may be left empty (as a wider channel 224) or made flat so that thebottom food articles can move about freely without being jammed inplace.

[0040] FIGS. 6 to 8 show a second cooking appliance 10A embodying theinvention, which has a construction similar to that of the first cookingappliance 10, with equivalent parts designated by the same referencenumerals suffixed by a letter “A”. The major differences lie in that thefood basket 200A has a generally cylindrical shape and that the drivemechanism 300A is adapted to rotate the basket 200A continuously in onedirection.

[0041] The food basket 200A is likewise a screen basket, having a pairof generally circular solid vertical end walls 210A and a generallycylindrical meshed or perforated peripheral wall 220A extendinghorizontally at right angles across the end walls 210A. The cylindricalbasket 200A is supported centrally for rotation about the pivot axis X1for tumbling food articles, such as potato chips, contained therein.

[0042] The peripheral wall 220A includes a hinged segment 230A that isopenable like a lid to allow food articles to be loaded into the basket200A. The wall 220A is stamped into a wavy shape to form the ridges 222Aand channels 224A before it is bent into a cylinder and then connectedto the end walls 210A to form the food basket 200A.

[0043] The aluminum pot 130A remains generally semi-cylindrical, havinga diameter that is marginally larger than that of the basket 200A forholding the basket 200A partially (about half) therein as a rotationalsliding fit about the pivot axis X1. The drive mechanism 300A likewiseincorporates an electric motor and a speed-reduction gearbox, forrotating the food basket 200A slowly in either one direction.

[0044] In the case of both cooking appliances 10 and 10A, as the foodarticles are to be turned and mixed by themselves without the use of anyagitator, they can be kept intact without being broken into smallerpieces or squashed. Given that the food articles will be turnedcontinuously, a relatively small amount of cooking liquid can be used,which by reason of its small quantity can be heated up to the requiredcooking temperature (200° c.) in a relatively short time (5 minutes).

[0045] The invention has been given by way of example only, and variousother modifications and/or variations to the described embodiments maybe made by persons skilled in the art without departing from the scopeof the invention as specified in the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cooking appliance comprising: a container forcontaining a cooking liquid; an electrical heating element associatedwith the container for heating cooking liquid in the container; a foodreceptacle supported in the container for angular movement about asubstantially horizontal pivot axis, the receptacle having a portionthat is perforated to let in cooking liquid in the container for cookingfood articles received in the receptacle; and a drive mechanism formoving the food receptacle about the pivot axis; wherein the foodreceptacle includes a wall extending at least partially around the pivotaxis, the wall including a plurality of traps fixed thereto for trappingand carrying said food articles out of said cooking liquid upon relativeupward movement of the receptacle and then allowing said food articlesto fall back down upon further upward movement of the receptacle.
 2. Thecooking appliance as claimed in claim 1, wherein the food receptacle hasa substantially at least part circular cross-section at right angles tothe pivot axis, and a central axis coinciding with the pivot axis. 3.The cooking appliance as claimed in claim 2, wherein the container has across-section that is substantially the same as but marginally largerthan that of the food receptacle, together sharing a common centralaxis.
 4. The cooking appliance as claimed in claim 1, wherein the foodreceptacle comprises a screen basket.
 5. The cooking appliance asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the receptacle portion and wall comprisescreen parts.
 6. The cooking appliance as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe receptacle wall has a general shape that is substantially at leastpart cylindrical and has a central axis coinciding with the pivot axis.7. The cooking appliance as claimed in claim 1, wherein the traps arespaced apart angularly about the pivot axis.
 8. The cooking appliance asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the traps comprise protrusions on an innersurface of the receptacle wall.
 9. The cooking appliance as claimed inclaim 8, wherein the receptacle wall has a substantially at least partcylindrical general shape that extends equidistantly round the pivotaxis and has opposite ends, across which ends at least some of theprotrusions extend.
 10. The cooking appliance as claimed in claim 9,wherein at least two, upper and lower ones of the protrusions haverespective generally triangular cross-sections each having oppositesides, the sides of the upper protrusion being inclined at a relativelylarger angle to the receptacle wall than those of the lower protrusion.11. The cooking appliance as claimed in claim 1, wherein the receptaclewall extends at least partially around the pivot axis, and the trapscomprise recesses in an inner surface of the receptacle wall.
 12. Thecooking appliance as claimed in claim 1, wherein the receptacle wallextends equidistantly at least partially around the pivot axis and arebent in a wavy manner to form the traps.
 13. The cooking appliance asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the food receptacle has a generallysemi-cylindrical shape about the pivot axis, and the drive mechanism isadapted to pivot the food receptacle in a reciprocating manner.
 14. Thecooking appliance as claimed in claim 1, wherein the food receptacle hasa generally cylindrical shape about the pivot axis, and the drivemechanism is adapted to rotate the food receptacle continuously in onedirection.